Upcoming Meetings & Events

September Club Meeting - 9/6/13Fall Fishing - Artificial Style. We'll hold a round-table discussion led by Club members on fishing with artificial (casting/trolling) for Fall Striped Bass. Dan Wilson will also be making a cameo appearance to provide a follow-up on his July discussion regarding striper growth rates.

September Member-Guest Tournament - 9/14/13This is the second of our "harvest" tournaments, with fish collected planned for use in the October Fish Fry. Registration deadline is Friday, 9/6.

October Club Meeting - 10/4/13Fish Fry & Swap Meet - bring any sporting good related items (no weapons or ammunition please) which you'd like to sell or trade.

November Club Meeting - 11/1/13Chili Cook-off & Board Elections

November Member-Guest Tournament - 11/2/13The last tournament in the 2013 Series - Make sure you're a part of this one in the final stretch.

Club Christmas Banquet - 12/6/13 Join your fellow Club members and their significant others to close out the year with our annual Christmas Banquet. More details to come.

All Club Meetings are held at the Moneta Community Center on Rucker Rd. unless otherwise noted above. You can always check the latest calendar of Club events on the Club Website.

From the Editor

As I write this I look at the calendar and see August, but am convinced it is already October. What a crazy summer we've had - though I'm certainly not going to complain about a year where we've only seen surface temps above 85 degrees on a few occasions - and anytime I can in August with 70 degree temps, I'll take it! Not to mention this little tease from Mother Nature has me fired up for some real Fall Fishing. Nothing is better than Big Bait on Boards!

We've had a busy year in the Club thus far this year, and there are still a number of activities to get involved in before the year ends. Without our members there is no Club, so make sure you get involved - participate in our meetings, get involved with a committee (or two), and enjoy a little friendly competition in the Member-Guest tournaments (still two tournaments remaining this year). Mark your calendars now for our annual Christmas Party on Friday, December 7th.

Finally, this newsletter, and the content of the Club meetings are for you, the members. We need to hear from you on what you like, don't like, what you want to see more or less of, or even just your ideas of how we can improve. Also, WE NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS - please submit your fishing pictures and if you're feeling especially adventurous, maybe a contributed article.

Fish On!Mike Ward

July / August Meeting Overviews

July's meeting featured our local DGIF Biologist, Dan Wilson, providing an update on the recent stocking as well as the overall state of the striper fishery at Smith Mountain Lake. (Editors Note: full stocking results are detailed in the July/August Club Newsletter which you can view on the Club website)

A few key highlights from Dan's discussion include:

An overview of the DGIF organization and how he fits into the broader team

The scope of Dan's responsibility includes a 10-county area, including 2 large reservoirs (SML, Leesville & Phillpot) and 10 smaller public lakes, along with the Dan & James river in this area and all warm-water (non-trout) streams and both stocked and wild trout streams in this geographic area

Fielded questions on the thermocline, and provided an explanation of what it is and how it relates to stripers

Presented data on striper growth patterns in SML based on gill-net and fish head (oolith) collection

Raised some concern that we are seeing growth stagnating as the reach the mid-20" range

What Can Anglers Do? SUBMIT DIARIES! Also, contribute fish heads over 26". Angler Data is the only collection tool Dan will be working with in 2013 due to limited resources and not doing gill-netting, etc this year.

During our August meeting, Club members enjoyed a fish fry from fish collected during our July harvest tournament - a BIG thanks to the cooks and others that helped with the preparation & serving.

Macky May then led a discussion on fishing with planer boards. A few highlights from the discussion included: Macky puts the baits about 20' back from the planer board and runs them this way year-round. He uses 25lb leader & main line and always places a bead above the swivel (that connects the main line to the leader) so that the planer board will not slide down to the hook and knock the fish loose. When running multiple boards, he will use a 3/8 oz weight on his inside board and typically pulls 0.8 - 1 mph. He also runs boards in the summer, using 2 oz weights just as he would his downline rods - just pulling slower (0.3-0.5 mph).

Macky discussing how he fishes with planer boards

Always a crowd for a good Fish Fry!

Member-Guest Tournament Series Update

The temperatures are heating up along with the tournament series. During our July Member-Guest, 26 fish were measured in with 12 anglers bringing a 2-fish total to the check-in. Chris May is on a roll with his 3rd 1st place finish and 3rd "Big Fish" with a 34.5" striper.

Our 4th tournament of the series is close at hand. The deadline for registration for the September Member-Guest is Friday, September 6th. Additional information, registration forms and tournament tokens (and measuring devices for Series participants) will be available at the September Club meeting. As always, additional details and the full Official Tournament Rules will be published in the 2013 Tournament Rules and posted on the Club's website (http://www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/tournament-info.html) and the Club's Facebook page. Any questions can be directed to this year's tournament co-directors - Mark Melius (mytoyzfishing@gmail.com; 540-597-8710) or Rick Boettcher (jrboettcher@cox.net; 540-761-3549).

A few pictures from the tournament are below, and you can see more on the Club website.

President's Corner

Recently
I felt a bit like Rip Van Winkle in the old story. I took a nap and when I
awoke, I wondered where the Summer has gone. The Labor Day holiday weekend is
upon us and Summer has slipped away. It seems like it has been a good Summer;
not too hot as it was the past couple of years. That was good for being out
there on the water but I wonder if it affected the fishing any. The water never
did warm up like the last two summers and the fishing was a bit off kilter. I
caught fish but not much in the usual places or in nearly the numbers. That’s
OK because I still enjoyed every minute of it. Fall is just around the corner
and I always look forward to that. Be sure to catch the next meeting where we
will be discussing Fall fishing with artificials.
Our
Preservation Committee has been busy with Dan Wilson discussing observations of
the striper population and developing some management ideas. Dan will be with
us again at the September meeting for a short update and Mike Ward will provide
a summary of the committee actions.
It’s
time to get ready for out next striper tournament on September 14th.
I’m sure glad its after Labor Day as that should reduce the weekend boat
traffic. Just remember, you can’t win if you don’t play.
There
are a lot of other activities on the horizon. The October meeting is swap night
and chili night. Now’s the time to start sorting through the tackle for goodies
to sell and to start practicing on your chili recipes. The November meeting
will include election for board members. Becoming a board member is the best
way to participate in the club and to bring your thoughts, ideas and influence
to the table. Remember, serving as a board member is not a lifelong commitment,
but a year or two can make a big difference. No experience required.
And
remember, you can’t catch fish without your lures (or bait) in the water.
Joel

Sponsor Highlight - Mytoyzfishing Custom Rods

Editors Note: Our Club Sponsors are an invaluable part of the Smith Mountain Striper Club. Their support of the Club is greatly appreciated and we will be profiling our Sponsors on a periodic basis in the newsletters going forward. Please make note of our Club Sponsors, thank then when you see them and most importantly support them with your business.

Mytoyzfishing Custom Rods came about several years ago when I started building rods for myself. I grew up fishing and as I got older I found it harder to find fishing rods that were to my liking. So I decided to start making my own. My thought was that I could build the rod the way I wanted it and not how some mass produced factory thought I wanted it. After some friends saw the rods I was using they wanted some too, so the actual business side started. The name actually came from a long running joke in my family of all “my toys” that I had.

At Mytoyzfishing Custom Rods you can order the most simple of rod to the most wild rod. Only limitation is your imagination. When ordering a custom rod you have full control over how its built and with what components. I use the highest quality components to produce the highest quality rod custom-tailored to your liking and specifications.

I get asked a lot if I make a certain style of rod. I make all style of rods from heavy trolling rods with roller guides to the lightest and most sensitive ultra-lights, Bass rods, fly rods, and I have even made a couple of off the wall non-traditional rods such as "Acid Rods (spiral wrapped rod). Rod requests that other builders have turned down, I have built.

Not only do I create custom rods, but also offer repair services for any rod out there. Don’t throw away that rod with the broken guide or busted tip, give me a call and I will take a look at it. As a Smith Mountain Striper Club member you will get 15% off of any work done by Mytoyzfishing Custom Rods. Feel free to call or email me to discuss your future rod and get a quote.

Mark Melius, Owner, MyToyzFishing Custom Rods

Water Temperature- 8/22/13

The surface cooling trend continues - while we might see a bit of a increase over the weekend with some sunny skies predicted, the shortening days will limit the degree to how much our temps will arise - maybe an early Fall is upon us!

As always, a big thanks to Joel Janeck for his diligent collection of this useful temperature data.

Some Thoughts on Striped Bass Catch & Release

By: Shawn McNew, Owner, Striper Soup Bait & Tackle

What is one of the most argued topics when it comes to the striped bass? It's not which lure works best, not what state has the biggest striper, not braid vs mono. Possibly the hottest topic when it comes to landlocked Southern striped bass is post release mortality. There have been studies, articles, discussions, experiments, trials and tribulations galore on the issue and still no answer has been reached. Or has it?

The main issue with the catch and release of Southern striper is NOT an issue of survival. WHAT? Rather, it is an issue of ethics amongst anglers. The simple fact that somebody releases a fish has no bearing on the survival of said fish. The survival of the fish is imminently and profoundly affected by the methods used by the angler who caught it. There are several key components to a PROPER catch and release. If any one of these components are overlooked or miscarried, the survival rate of the released fish WILL be compromised. The vast majority of dead striper will sink. JUST BECAUSE THEY SWAM AWAY DOESN'T MEAN THEY WILL LIVE.

WATER TEMPERATURE: By FAR and AWAY the most critical component of PROPER catch and release is water temperature. Here in the south where summer water temperatures regularly climb to 90 degrees and our lakes stratify, the striper are at their geographical limits as far as latitude goes. Unfortunately, due to the physiological nature of these fish, striper in many southern impoundments are swimming a fine line between surviving until cooler temperatures prevail or death due to overheating/suffocation/starvation. Inducing ANY stress during this time of susceptibility will typically shift the balance to ultimately result in the death of the fish. SOLUTION: When fishing for striper in water over 75 degrees, be very cautious with larger fish (10 lbs and up) since they are the most susceptible to the heat. Either limit yourself to killing only your creel limit, find cooler waters to fish such as a river or tailrace, fish for a specie more tolerant of warm water release, or don't fish for striper if you think they may be dying after release. Listening to advice of experienced striper anglers and doing your own research on this topic will make you aware of your impact on the fishery.

DEPTH OF FISH:Not the depth where you hooked the fish, but the depth the fish was prior to it reacting to your lure or bait. Bringing fish up to the surface from depths below about 30 feet will begin to result in a condition called barotrauma. This is due to the pressure difference at the surface vs. the depth from which the fish came. For every 32 feet of depth in water, the pressure increases one atmosphere. A fish balances itself by increasing or reducing the amount of gas in the swim bladder. As they go deeper, they must increase the amount to stay neutrally buoyant so they don't sink. When reeled up from the depths (in some extreme cases striper are being caught 90-100 feet deep, THAT'S 3 ATMOSPHERES PRESSURE), the swim bladder expands uncontrollably because it takes time for them to reabsorb the gas. This expansion rips and tears at the internal organs of the fish and often results in the stomach being expelled out of the fish's mouth. Unfortunately, barotrauma and summertime fishing go hand in hand. SOLUTION: Keep your limit and STOP. Fish caught and released at this point will most likely die from injury. Forcing a fish downward into the water "torpedoing" is a less than desirable option. When torpedoing, allow the fish to only drop from a few inches above the water's surface. The idea is to start the fish's natural swimming motion so it has a chance to propel itself. Often the fish is thrown into the water head down with too much force causing the disoriented fish to pop back up to the surface. There are devices designed to lower the fish back to the depth it was caught which are supposed to let the fish revive at the temperature and pressure where it started. This is a better alternative to a surface release, but there are no studies to show it is effective. A technique called fizzing, or decompression, or gassing in which a needle is stuck through the side of the fish to allow some of the gas to be expelled is thought by some to be a successful alternative to just killing the bloated fish. The fact remains that the internals of the fish are damaged, it struggled on the line during the fight, was likely reeled through hot surface waters, and has now been overhandled by its would-be savior. This fish will at least die out of sight.

OVERHANDLING: Third on the list of improper catch and release for good reason. Striper are majestic fish and enthusiastic anglers like to admire their catch. Unfortunately, they are unwittingly admiring their fish to death. Have your scales and cameras ready for action PRIOR to landing the fish. DO NOT allow the fish to touch anything that will disturb or remove its slime coat. We are all guilty of this, but minimizing the handling will result in better survival for the released fish. Nets are a big problem when it comes to this issue. The only net that is remotely release-friendly is a rubber or rubber coated net. Nets without coatings or with knotted mesh against the slime of a striper are like a cheese grater on YOUR skin. Disturbing the slime coat in any way will open a fish to many kinds of infections which could ultimately kill the fish. SOLUTION: Use a smooth-tipped lip gripping device like a Boga Grip or plastic lip gripper to subdue and lift the fish. Support the belly of the fish. Snap a quick picture or two and get the fish back in the water. If you are alone, you cannot possibly accomplish this in a timely manner. Having a video camera already recording would be a great idea and you can capture still images of a quick pose from that.

DEEP HOOKING: This issue is mainly from using bait. Sometimes a hungry striper will inhale the bait so quickly, you cannot possibly hook it in the lip. However, there are a couple of tricks you can employ to help prevent this. Circle hooks are designed to hook a fish in the lip. Offset circle hooks where the point is bent slightly outward will still deep hook a fish, but not nearly as often as a normal “J” hook, octopus or a khale style. If you must release a deep hooked fish, make a judgment as to whether or not the hook appears to be removable. Have your hook remover nearby. If it is too deeply embedded, cut the line as short as you can, usually at the lips, and release the fish quickly as usual. The hook will eventually rust away and as long as it’s not in a compromising area, the fish should survive. Try shortening your leader on downlines. Keeping your bait closer to the weight will result in a quicker positive hookup and less swallowing of the bait. Don’t allow striper to “run” with the bait. The old Roland Martin shiner fishing “Count to ten and then JACK HIS JAW” doesn’t apply here. Striper don’t have suitcases or armpits to hold the bait in or under, it will be in their mouth so apply pressure immediately.

FIGHT TIME: Keep fight time to a minimum. The longer a fish struggles, the more tired they become. The more tired they become, the more lactic acid is released into their muscle tissue. Lactic acid in a striper is no joke. It makes them stiff, and after the fight, if they do not get swimming right away, they often die from a condition called LACTIC ACID ACIDOSIS. If you combine a long fight with high water temperatures and barotrauma, you’d better be getting that fish in, off, and down in a hurry! If the fish is over 10 pounds in the above scenario, it is more than likely a dead fish whether you put it on ice or not. SOLUTION: Use heavier rods, reels, line and tighter drag settings to bring fish in quickly. This is always a good idea, even in cooler weather and colder water.

METHOD OF FISHING: To a lesser degree, the way you fish for the striper will have some effect on the releasability factor. Trolling umbrella rigs, leadcore, or even spoons, spinners and plugs typically results in a lip hook, and a more releasable fish. Using small bait will usually result in catching smaller, more releasable fish. Fish smartly and you can reduce your “death footprint” on the striper population.

ETHICS: This is the most difficult component of catch and release. Many anglers, and unfortunately the ones who pose the greatest impact on the fisheries, will CHOOSE to turn a blind eye to all of the studies, experiments, advice, and pressure from other anglers regarding poor release tactics. One such anglers’ death footprint on any given striper population can be 10-50x greater than a typical weekend angler. For example, some fishing guides choose to ignore their own conscience and bad practice of releasing striper to swim off and die. This is usually done with clientele aboard their vessel who unwittingly participate in the slaughter themselves under the false veil that the fish they are releasing might actually survive to be caught again. SOLUTION: None known at this time; perhaps education?

CREEL LIMITS: Sometimes at the root of the issue are outdated regulations and laws regarding the number of fish which can legally be taken on a per state basis. For example, in Georgia, there is a 15 fish (under 22 inch) limit on any combination of striper and hybrid striped bass per person. Only 2 may be over 22 inches. This regulation promotes a high kill number, especially on boats with a few people on board. Fortunately there is a 50 fish limit per boat. This is still a lot of dead fish. In Tennessee, this same regulation is 2 fish per person with a minimum length of 15 inches. Some special regulations apply to a few other lakes in the state, but this seems to preserve fish numbers much better than Georgia’s high limit. If there was a 7-8 fish compromise, it would secure a greater holdover population of fish from year to year. This would give more anglers a chance to catch not only more, but larger fish each year.

LAKE SIZE AND STOCKING NUMBERS: To a far lesser degree, the number of fish added to a lake each year needs to be considered. Striper are a stocked fish in nearly every landlocked impoundment with a few exceptions like Santee Cooper in South Carolina, Lake Weiss in Alabama and Texoma in Texas. Minimal natural reproduction occurs in other lakes, but usually not enough to generate viable catchable populations. Larger lakes like Hartwell and Clarks Hill on the Savannah River system receive several hundred thousand to a million striper fingerlings each year. Smaller lakes like Allatoona and Sinclair may receive less than a hundred thousand in some years. Yet the fishing pressure remains just as high on the smaller lakes. In fact, Allatoona is one of the most visited lakes that is controlled by the Army Corp of Engineers. That is out of 694 lakes! SOLUTION: Conserve the striped bass population by using proper release techniques and keep only what you plan on eating.

In summary, if you make the choice to release a striped bass with the intent for it to survive to continue growing, you must follow the proper guidelines. If you are releasing fish solely to make you or your clients feel better about catching and killing so many fish out of deep OR near 90 degree water, please think twice about what you’re actually taking away from everybody else. Your living may depend on catching those fish, but then again, your living depends on catching those fish! Keeping some striper to eat is recommended, but needless slaughter is severely frowned upon. Alternative species like catfish or bass make for good fun and good eating while not doing damage to a stressed out striper population. So, if it’s hot, or the fish are deep, or if you mishandle, or deep hook, or even worse: you just don’t care, then the chances of a striper living post release will go down. ENJOY the resource, be an ethical angler, reduce your death footprint and practice PROPER catch and release.

About the author:Shawn holds a BS degree in wildlife fisheries science from the University of Tennessee. He has been dedicated to catching and releasing striped bass for 20 years. His guide service, Seein Stripes, operated in East Tennessee and practiced catch and release ONLY striper trips. Shawn promotes the use of circle hooks, no nets, and short fight times to allow for successful catch and release. As the owner of Striper Soup Bait & Tackle, he enjoys helping anglers succeed at their striped bass goals.

Member Profile - Bruce Brenholdt

I grew up happy in Iowa, where everyone in the family worked their tails off for 51 weeks a year & fishing was limited to an annual vacation with relatives in WI & MN. My best memories are helping my Mom garden (I sold vegetables door-to-door from my little red wagon); helping my Dad smoke hams, bacon, turkeys & dried beef; & riding horses. In our Scandinavian family, the fish delicacies were pickled herring & gelatinous, smelly lutefisk made from salted or dehydrated codfish (I promise to never bring lutefisk to a striper club potluck!).

My working career in Iowa, WI, MN & NC was high stress health care for 36 years, with interludes of fantastic trout fishing near LaCrosse, WI (which I still do each May). Thanks to my wife’s good judgment, we bought a condo at SML near R25 about eight years ago. A major heart event almost 4 years ago, which I survived with the help of the Scruggs Rescue Squad & others, resulted in so much relaxation that I took up striper fishing for an occasional jolt of adrenalin. It’s amazing that after all those years of dreading early morning work meetings, I now love getting up early to go fishing, listen to the birds & then take a nap. My wife has tolerated pretty well the investment in fishing gear, but she put her foot down when I proposed trading in the ski boat for something better suited to striper fishing. Consequently, I’m the guy trying to fish from a modified blue & white ski boat, with the home-made inclement weather “bonnet” for fishing on rainy, cold days.

I finally joined the Striper Club last year & quickly wished I’d done it sooner, as I’ve learned a lot very quickly (although the number of fish in the boat hasn’t changed yet). The club website & monthly meetings are really enjoyable, & I look forward to getting to know everyone better. Throwing tacos with the cast net for several months was pretty frustrating, but now that I can throw a respectable circle most of the time, netting shad gives me another good adrenalin rush. A striper club member inspired me to build a bait cage this spring, which was really a lot of fun & it works great, except in the heat of summer .

If we are able to sell our current home in Greensboro, then we plan to move to SML full-time. We will need a bigger place with garden space, as you can’t take the farmer out of most Iowa natives, even though it still seems strange trying to grow vegetables in red dirt. I like to cook & my wife & I enjoy traveling (both our kids live in CA, so we generally go west). I’ve recently begun smoking different kinds of meat, this time adding fish to the menu. I like beer battered striper the best, but I have to limit my fried food intake, so fish tacos, fish chowder & smoked stripers are my new favorites.

From The Water - 8/22/13 - Joel Janecek

A fine day to be out on the water. Also looks like the riff-raff traffic is easing up a bit too. I decided to head up lake today so I started looking at Hales Ford Bridge . No go, so I ran up to R30 for a peek. I started marking a few scattered fish, some down, some not so down, so I started trolling. Hit that corner, up the bank, over to Stoney and inside, and up to R34. No dice. So I looked around Indian Creek and did indeed mark some fish but no takers. I spotted a small school up shallow on the point leaving Indian Creek and pulled lines to hit 'em. I dropped a jig and was casting around. At times they were right under the boat but I couldn't 't buy a bite. So I kept moving and looking up lake and finally got to Beaver Dam.

YES! There were small schools of fish around, maybe 12-20 in each school. I quickly dropped lines and got the first fish right at BE1. A plump 23". No big shakes, but it was a fish. No foolin' around this time, I dropped some jigs and started casting. Zip. I started trolling again and a couple laps got nothing. I started up lake again and made it past Lynville without seeing much. I even made a quick run to the Tennis Courts. A few scattered fish there made me set out the lines but nothing bit.

I ran back to Beaver Dam for another try. On the second lap I was outside the creek mouth when I got another fish. Only 21". Oh well. Another lap gave nothing and I couldn't find any more fish. So I started back down lake and stopped and looked here and there. Nothing showing. I got back to R34 and started trolling to R30. I put out two new lures I got at Captains Quarters and finally at R30 got another bite on one of the new lures. Only 22" but that's about all I was marking was small fish.

Hey, it was nice on the water.

Later Joel

In Search of Deep, Cool Water

Mike Ward

Keeping cool water in your bait tank is a critical factor in keeping quality bait during the summer months. I generally like to keep my bait tank in the mid-60's to low 70's range when keeping alewives. Ideally you want your bait holding in water that is no more than a few degrees, maybe 5, from the temperature at the depth that the bait is being pulled from, or where you will be suspending it when fishing. If you pay attention to the depths where you mark schools of alewife, you'll typically see them holding from 20-40 feet (or even deeper). Ever notice how you have to catch bait at deeper water lights as the summer progresses and water temperature increases - it has everything to do with the bait pulling back to levels with more comfortable water temperatures (as long as those levels have sufficient dissolved oxygen - but that's a whole other article).

If you have a deep-water well at home, you can fill your tank will well water, but check the temperature as the well water may actually be too cold and you'll need to temper it with some warmer, lake surface water to get the right balanced temperatures. Another thing to watch out for with well water that many have experienced is often water pulled from deep-water wells if low in oxygen, and if you fill the tank and immediately put bait in the tank they may suffocate from lack of oxygen. Therefore, it is always a good idea to run your aerator on the tank for a while before adding bait to a newly filled tank if using well water. Also, to be clear, we are talking about UN-CHLORNATED well water here - city or community water and your bait do not mix unless you first treat it with a de-chlorinator chemical.

OK, but what if you do not have access to a deep-water well at your house or boat dock, so how can you get cool water for the tank? One way is to fill the tank with lake surface water and then cool it down with ice. If you use ice be sure that you use dechlorinated-water based ice. You can buy bagged ice at plenty of places around the lake - "Hometown Ice", found around the Smith Mountain Lake are has proven safe, but at $2 per 10 lb bag, this can begin to get costly. In my 40 gal SuperBait Tank II tank, a 10 lb bag of ice will bring the water temp down somewhere around 3-5 degrees. So, if I use surface water that is 80-85 degrees then I'll need at least 20 lbs of ice just to get the tank down to where I want the temperature to be BEFORE I put bait in - much less the ice needed to supplement in the tank throughout the day if I am keeping bait across a weekend.

If you don't fancy all that store-bought ice and want to ensure you have "safe" water, you can also freeze lake water by filling some soda bottles or tupperware to freeze blocks of ice and then putting the blocks of ice and/or floating the bottles in the tank, but this creates the hassle of filling your containers, freezing them in a deep-freezer, and then transporting the ice to your tank.

Isn't there an easier way that prevents lugging around coolers full of ice? Well, we want to keep our tank water around the temperature that our bait is coming from - so somewhere down there is water that is of the temperature that the bait likes, so why don't we just use that? The good news is we can - we just have to reach a ways down there to get it.

When looking at a few of our water temperature measurements, we can see the contrasts in the temperatures across a depth profile from early June to late August - not only does the upper layer of water warm, but the lower depths also warm well into the 60's by late summer.

Why not put together a pump and hose setup that let's us get down to that cold water and fill our tank. I have used this technique to fill my tank since I started striper fishing, and my initial pump rig consisted of a 500 or 800 gph bilge pump connected to a 25' garden hose, powered with alligator clips off my cranking battery. This setup worked, though a bit slow (on the order of 15-20 minutes to fill my 40 gal tank) and it did not allow me to get to sufficient depths during the summer, so I would have to augment with ice to cool the water down to a sufficient temperature. At one point I made a similar rig with a 50', 5/8" garden hose and a Rule 1100 gph pump, but this took FOREVER to fill the tank due to the flow restriction from the friction of the water flow through 50' of narrow hose.

This summer I vowed to make "the right" deep water rig - I recently assembled this setup and now am able to fill my 40 gal tank through 40' of hose in under 4 minutes.

This new deep-water pump rig consists of a Rule 2000 gph bilge pump and two sections of 1-1/4" pool vacuum hose, and assorted fittings and wire. You could also use a 1100 or 1500 gph pump - each have 1-1/8" fittings which would work with the build procedure described below - you'll just have slow tank fill/drain times (though you should see considerable improvement over the use of 5/8" garden hose).

For my build, I purchased two, 26', 1-1/4" pool vacuum hoses from Wal-Mart. You can also find similar hoses at Lowes, Home Depot or various sources on-line. In comparing the hoses offered in-store at Wal-Mart to that at Lowes & Home Depot, the Wal-Mart offering was a few dollars cheaper, a few feet longer and appears to have smoother lining inside the hose, which helps to reduce friction experienced by the water flowing through the hose. Corrugated bilge hose can also be used, but it is generally flimsier, more likely to kink and is ribbed on the interior, thus reducing flow, and harder to obtain in long lengths.

In order to reach mid-60's water at the hottest periods of the year, water needs to be pumped up from around 30-35'. Taking into account the distance the hose has to travel out of the water, over the the boat gunnel and to the tank, a total length of around 40' was required. I cut one section of hose to around 14'-15' to give me a total length of about 40' when the two sections of hose were joined. This also gives me a few options that I can use to assemble the hose to different lengths throughout the year to reduce the bulk of hose stored on the boat when the full lengths are not needed.

The hose is joined with a 1-1/4" x 1-14" male barb to male barb fitting that can be found in the plumbing section of your local home improvements store. With the hoses I used, the barb fittings were tight enough that hose clamps are not needed, though over time they may be.

The next challenge in assemble was how to mate the 1-1/4" interior diameter (I.D.) vacuum hose to the 1-1/8" outside diameter (O.D.) fitting on the Rule bilge pump. The difference in size was too large to slip on and clamp, but this was solved by using a 4"-5" section of 1" I.D. / 1-1.4" O.D. clear PVC tubing. With a little persuasion (and if needed a little easing with a heat-gun), the tubing could be slid on the pump fitting, and then it fit nicely inside the factor fitting on the vacuum hose. A stainless-steel hose clam on each side and we have a nice, tight union.

All that is left is to wire the pump for its power source. For now, I decided to use clips that I can attach to my cranking battery like I have used previously - though I may change this out in the future and use a plug/socket such as would be used with a trolling motor, and place a more permanent mount point on the boat, and connect into a physical switch.

While I generally only use tinned marine wire in my boating applications, I had 50' of wire that I had used on my previous deep-water pump, so I decided to re-use this. It is 14 gauge, which is the minimum size I would recommend given the distance to minimize voltage drop to the pump and the current load the 2000 gph pumps pulls. Heat-shrink crimp connectors where used to join the bilge pump wiring to the extension wire, but to ensure its integrity against water intrusion, I coated the ends of each connection with liquid "electrical tape" and then applied a length of heat-shrink tubing over the connector, and applied more liquid tape over the ends of the heat-shrink tubing. Finally, a water-resistant, in-line blade fuse holder was installed on the positive power lead just after the battery clip to install the 15 amp fuse (the recommended fuse size for the pump - which pulls 7-8 amps).

Finally, zip-ties were used every foot to hold the wire to the hose (and to provide a reference point to measure depth) and the rig was ready to put to its 1st test run. The results were a success with the the pump filling my 40 gallon Super Bait Tank II in under 4 minutes - I'll actually have to keep an eye on the tank fill from now on vs. fiddling around with re-tying my lines or other tasks when preparing the boat. While the pool hose will float, the weight of the pump is sufficient to pull the hose down without it floating up ensuring the pump is pulling from its full, desired depth.

Earlier in the article I mentioned cutting down one 26' foot section of hose into a 14' and 12' section. This gives me some options to configure the pump with a hose that is 14', 26', 40' or 52', as needed. However, I need an easy way to extend or shorten the wire to match the length of the hose. I ran across a source for some watertight Delphi connectors that are of suitable wire gauge & amperage, and they even have them pre-assembled in a harness so that I do not have to acquire the proper crimping tool. I like the Deutsch connectors better, but given these are available pre-assembled, they will do. I plan to order a few sets and install female and male end on each section of hose so that I can connect/disconnect the various lengths of hose as needed, allowing me to have the right length of hose through the different times of year, without having to manage the bulk of the full length on the boat year-round.

Note: For the remainder of 2013, New Members can join the Smith Mountain Striper Club for $15.

Please Support our Club Sponsors & Advertisers

Our Club Sponsors and Advertisers provide a valuable support to the Smith Mountain Striper Club and our membership. When in need of goods or services, please give our sponsors consideration and also let them know that you appreciate their support of the Club.